News

Putting Men’s Mental Health in the spotlight

Wednesday morning, Dr Chris Bourke, Member for Ginninderra will open the Men’s Health and Suicide Prevention Conference 2014, focusing on ways to increase men’s awareness of mental health issues and how organisations can assist men in Canberra to seek help.

“Mental illness is common. One in 5, or 20% of Australians experience a mental illness in any given year. Almost half (45%) of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime,” Dr Bourke said.

“I welcome this conference as a way that key sectors, which currently provide services to men, can focus on the different stages of men’s lives, the different pressures placed on them, and how they can get help from the right services locally.

“Encouraging men to seek help early is an important aspect of addressing this issue in Canberra, and also more broadly across Australia,” Dr Bourke said.

The conference has been coordinated by a range of men’s mental health organisations, including: OzHelp Foundation, Menslink, Lifeline, Mental Health Community Coalition ACT, SupportLink, ACT Health and the Department of Health.

What’s Your opinion?

I am one of the organised of the Resolution Run Series. The Series has been set up to highlight the lack of help for men regarding mental health and other other health issues. This is our first year in running this series and would really appreciate any information or contacts you may have regarding men’s health in Canberra. My email address is robyn@resolutionrunseries.com.au